Grow Your Way to Health!

Transcription

1 Grow Your Way to Health! 1 The OceanGrown Method for Growing Wheatgrass at Home Why Grow Wheatgrass at Home? Without doubt, the simplest and least expensive way for an individual to enhance his or her health is to grow and juice wheatgrass at home. All wheatgrass, when cut in the 8-9 range, is nutritious even when it is grown on a synthetic bed and watered with plain water. But when wheatgrass is watered with OceanGrown Solution, full time the grass (and the resulting juice) has been found to contain more of the 90+ mineral elements found in nature than any other vegetable we re aware of. Why? Because OceanGrown Solution brings to wheatgrass the same natural balance of major and trace mineral elements found in perfect solution in all the oceans of the world. Nature s balanced diet of minerals is absorbed by wheatgrass when OceanGrown Solution is used as a liquid nutrient. The inorganic minerals are then transformed by the grass, by attaching a carbon atom to each mineral element, into an organic form which the human body can absorb and you get the benefit! What You ll Need to Get Started Nothing could be easier than growing wheatgrass at home. These instructions will help you get started with a proven method which you can then adjust as you get comfortable with growing your own grass. (You will also need a wheatgrass juicer; see the information on juicers at the end of these instructions.) Here s what you ll need: * Raw, whole wheat seeds (we use hard, red spring wheat seeds) * OceanGrown Solution * Two 10 x 20 plastic greenhouse flats, and two plastic domes to fit over the flats * A large kitchen mixing bowl. * Colander * Clean spray bottle for watering the grass * Watering can with shower head * Non-chlorinated paper towel or organic soil (without chemicals or animal waste) * Good quality plastic gallon jug for making OceanGrown solution The following instructions are arranged chronologically from Day 1 through Day 10, allowing you to implement the instructions one day at a time. So as Moses said to Pharaoh, Let my people grow!

2 The Big Idea Because a tray of grass takes approximately 8-10 days to grow, the idea is to start the first tray, then start the second tray 4-5 days later. If you measure the amount of grass you juice each day (about 1/8 tray), the two trays will overlap each other in their growing cycles allowing you to always have some grass ready to juice. Harvesting grass and root from one 10 x 20 tray will yield approximately 12 ounces of juice. Best to harvest the entire tray when at optimum size (8-9 inches tall). Juice what you would like for the day, or, juice the entire tray and bottle in a clean, sterilized glass bottle with tight fitting lid. Keep refrigerated and consume within seven days. You may also refrigerate cut grass and root for up to seven days and juice fresh daily. As you begin to consume more ounces per day, you will need to get additional trays and begin a new tray, say, every other day to keep from running out of grass. But to begin with, see if you can overlap the two trays in your kit to keep you supplied with 1-2 ounces of juice per day. 2 Day 1: Soaking the Wheat seeds BIG IDEA: It takes 8 ounces (1 cup) of dry wheat seeds to cover a 10 x 20 tray adequately for growing. You will need to soak these seeds in OceanGrown Solution for 12 to 24 hours to stimulate sprouting. 1. Mixing the OceanGrown Solution (hereafter OGS): In your gallon plastic jug, mix a 1:100 dilution of OceanGrown concentrate. This means 1 ounce of OceanGrown concentrate for every 100 ounces of pure water (distilled, reverse osmosis, or deionized/ozonated; do not use tap water.) Best is to purchase a TDS meter to measure your exact dilution rate target is 2000 ppm. (See mixing chart in resource section for additional information). 2. Put 8 ounces of wheat seeds in a large kitchen bowl and pour the OGS into the bowl, enough to cover the seeds by about one inch. 3. Make sure all the seeds sink beneath the water and let this bowl of seeds soak for 12 to 24 hours.

3 3 Day 2: Sprouting the seeds BIG IDEA: After the wheat seeds have soaked for 12 to 24 hours, they need to be drained for a second 24 hours. 1. After the seeds have soaked, pour the water and seeds into a large colander in the sink catch the OGS soak water and use to water the garden or lawn!!!! Do not re-use on the Wheatgrass. 2. Set the colander containing the damp seeds, on an empty tray (or other suitable drain) to catch any further draining water. 3. Place a damp cloth (thick, so it will hold moisture, like a terry cloth kitchen towel or wash rag) over the top of the seeds in the colander. The purpose of this rag is to keep the seeds moist while they begin to sprout. 4. Let the seeds sit for 24 hours, keeping the cloth damp. Toward the middle of this 24-hour period, you should see a small white sprout appear at the end of each wheat seed. By the end of this 24- hour period the sprout should be approximately 1/16 to 1/8 long. The seeds are now ready to be planted on the trays. [NOTE: It s very important that the seeds stay moist during this second 24- hour period. If your colander is a wire screen variety, which lets in lots of air, the seeds will dry out more quickly. If it is a stainless steel variety with solid sides and bottom with drain holes, the seeds will stay more moist. Either way, use your hand to feel the seeds occasionally during the second day to make sure they are staying moist. If necessary, apply a fine mist of OGS occasionally, and keep the cloth on the top damp.

4 4 Day 3: Planting the Seeds BIG IDEA: By the end of the third day, the wheat seeds should be ready to move from the colander to the trays for growing. 1. The damp seeds, with their sprouted tails (roots) are now ready for moving to the growing tray. 2. Spread a layer of paper towel or soil on one tray. 3. Before spreading the seeds out on the paper towel, mist the towel with a spray of 1:100 OGS, getting the towel damp (but not soaked). 4. Pour the 8 ounces of sprouted wheat seeds out onto the paper towel, spreading them evenly across the tray. It s fine that they overlap; spread them out as evenly as you can, especially along the edges of the tray and in the corners. Press down lightly on the seeds with your hand to settle them into the damp paper towel or soil. 5. Using your sprayer, spray a healthy mist of OGS over all the seeds, dampening the entire surface of the tray and all the seeds. 6. Next, the seeds must be covered, and they must remain moist, for the next 48 hours or so. Simply place a plastic dome over the tray. DO NOT PUT THE TRAYS IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT AT THIS TIME

5 5 Days 4-5: Initial Growth Spurt BIG IDEA: For the next hours, the seeds will send out roots into the paper towel and also send out a light green grass shoot. 1. Keep the seeds covered for the next 1-2 days while the seeds root into the paper towel and send out their grass shoots. 2. Spray the grass twice per day with a fine mist of OGS. The domes will create a mini-greenhouse effect do not over-water, just keep moist. 3. By the fourth day, the green shoots should be nearly 1 tall or higher. By the end of the fifth day you should be able to remove the dome. (Regardless of the day, remove the dome when the green shoots are 1 high.) Days 5-7: Growth to Maturity BIG IDEA: The goal during the remainder of the growth cycle is to provide the grass with sufficient OGS to grow to maturity. 1. When the grass is 1 tall, it is ready to continue growing without benefit of any cover. Move trays into light at this time. Bright diffused light may be adequate. Fluorescent grow lights suspended above the trays would be optimal. 2. For days 5-7, you will need to water the grass from above, watering lightly with shower-head watering can directly onto the grass itself, letting the moisture run down onto the tray bed. As the roots of the wheat seeds go deeper into the paper towel, they will form a root bed almost like a thick pad, or door mat, about 1/2 (or more) thick.

6 6 3. For days 7-9, water the bottom of the tray only. You will be able to gently lift up the grass pad off the tray at each end and water the roots by watering the tray. A thin film of OGS is sufficient. Develop a feel for the amount of moisture required. It will vary depending on temperature, humidity, etc. When you lower the root pad back down to the tray, the roots will absorb the moisture you have left on the tray. Too much water will cause the roots to rot and become discolored. It is better to spray/water more frequent light coatings of nutrient rather than leaving standing water on the trays for the root bed to sit and soak in. Roots need oxygen proper watering is crucial. 4. Your grass should continue growing successfully as a result of your careful watering until harvest time (approximately 8-9 tall). NOTE ON LIGHT: Your grass will grow fine with indirect sun light coming in through windows, or with light from overhead light fixtures. Fluorescent grow lights, suspended 6-8 above your grass, is ideal, but not mandatory. Day 8/9: Harvest! BIG IDEA: Your grass should be ready to harvest and juice around day 8 or 9. Ideal harvest height is about There are two basic options when it comes to harvesting your grass: Option #1: Harvest it all at once. Use a pair of scissors (or garden grass shears) to cut the grass off just above the root level. Store it in a sealed container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week. The advantage of harvesting it all at once is that it frees up the tray to be prepared immediately for another batch. More important is that some of the nutritional components of the grass begin to wane after this size.

7 7 Option #2: Harvest it as you juice it. Use scissors to cut just as much grass as you want to juice that day. The advantage with this method is that the grass continues to grow on the tray and stays alive. The disadvantages are that the tray remains full and cannot be reused immediately, plus the grass may begin to lodge (grow pale in color and fall over). Grass should be harvested ideally when it is bright green and standing straight up. If the color begins to fade and it begins to fall over, cut it and store it in the refrigerator. 2. If you have grown the grass with paper towel as the moisture retaining/rooting medium, you may also harvest the root. Many minerals and other beneficial compounds are stored in the roots. Turn the mat over on a flat surface and filet the white root from the layer of paper towel. This may take some practice with a good quality, thin-bladed and very sharp fish filet knife, you will quickly master this task. You want to harvest root which has formed a thick mat below the layer of paper towel. Discard root that appears dark in color or looks moldy or decayed. Rinse this root several times in purified water and then remove as much water from the root as possible. Juice the root right along with the grass it adds a nice zip to the taste, plus more nutrition! (We use a salad spinner to remove excess moisture from the root). 2. The remaining root pad can be composted in your compost pile, put down like tiles on top of eroding patches of topsoil in your yard (it won t continue to grow, but will help hold soil in place), or thrown into a worm bin. We have found that the pads are wonderful living mulch and can be used anywhere in the garden. If you continue to water a harvested root pad, the grass stubs will regrow, but the grass will grow more slowly and never reach the same height as the initial growth. Few wheatgrass juicers attempt a second harvest from a single tray of grass. 3. When your first tray is ready for harvest, you should have a second tray about halfway through the growth cycle. Prepare the newly emptied tray for a new growth of wheatgrass.

8 Appendix A: Additional Tips on Juicing Wheatgrass 8 1. Temperature: Wheatgrass grows best when the room temperature is in the low-70 s F. Cooler temperatures slows the growth, while warmer temperatures promotes the growth of mold around the base of the grass stems. Keeping the growing environment at this temperature, and not over-watering the Wheatgrass, will prevent most mold spores from growing. If you do see mold when you are cutting your grass (grayish filaments around the base of the grass stems), cut the grass higher to avoid any mold getting in your juice. 2. Air Circulation: Circulating air (e.g., an overhead ceiling far or small circulating fan) around the grass trays decreases the likelihood of mold growth. 3. Foaming: Wheatgrass tends to foam a lot when juiced, especially with an electric juicer. You can reduce the amount of foam that occurs by spraying a light coat of extra virgin olive oil on the juicer s internal gears or mechanisms (buy spray cans of extra virgin olive oil at your grocery or health food store). The small amount of oil keeps the foam to a minimum and does not affect the taste of the juice (besides, extra virgin olive oil is good for you!). 4. Taste: The taste of wheatgrass juice grown with OGS is quite strong and very potent. We recommend starting with 1-2 ounces per day and increasing the amount you drink gradually. You can offset the strong taste of the juice by mixing in small amounts (to taste) of organic apple juice or other sweet juices such as carrot or beet. Diluting the juice by half with pure water will also soften the taste. You may also add small amounts of a natural sweetener such as liquid stevia, or liquid flavoring such as peppermint. Experiment with different combinations to find the taste you like best. 5. Schedule: How much grass to grow (how many trays to prepare at once) will depend on how much juice you want to consume. Grass grown according to these instructions ( 1 cup of seeds seeded on a 10 x 20 tray) should yield approximately ounces of juice (if you harvest and juice the root also). Of course, the quality and efficiency of your juicer will impact the amount of juice you get per tray. Using 12 ounces of juice per tray as an example, if you want to consume four ounces of juice per day, then one tray will last three days. Since it takes 8-9 days to grow a tray of grass, then you will need to start a new tray every three days to keep the cycle going and always have fresh grass to juice. First, determine how much juice you are getting from one tray of grass. Second, determine how much juice you want to drink each day. Then, based on an 8-9 day growth cycle, figure out how often you will need to start a new tray to always have grass available. 6. Books: Authors such as Ann Wigmore and Steve Meyerowitz have written helpful books on wheatgrass growing and juicing. A search on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com under these authors names will bring up lists of their books. Reading further will deepen your understanding of the nutritional benefits of wheatgrass

9 juice and furnish additional growing techniques. Most health food stores have books by these and other authors on wheatgrass growing and juicing Disinfecting: Be sure to wash each plastic tray thoroughly to remove any soil residue or mold/bacteria which may be on the tray. A dilute solution of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide (1:16) is an excellent disinfectant for cleaning your trays, though hot soapy water is adequate as well. 8. Tray Rack: You may want to purchase a shelf or rack system to hold your wheatgrass trays while they are growing but before you do.... First take a couple of weeks to determine how much grass you are going to grow and juice for you and/or your family. If you are growing only for yourself, then the trays supplied in the Starter Kit may be adequate, which may not require a shelf system to hold. However, if you are consuming enough grass that you need to start a new tray every other day, or two trays every three days, then you will need more trays and, probably, some sort of rack or shelf system to hold them. So first determine how many trays you ll be growing regularly, then figure out where to put them. 9. Growing Media: Wheatgrass can be grown in other media besides paper towel. We recommend potting soil for beginners because it is the most natural medium and requires the least maintenance in terms of watering (soil holds moisture the best of any medium requiring less frequent watering). Once you have learned to grow wheatgrass successfully in potting soil you may want to experiment with paper towels (one layer of paper towel spread on the trays; the wheat berry roots will grow into the moist paper towel and form a root bed). You can also try spreading the sprouted wheat berries directly on the tray with no rooting medium. We don t recommend this since it requires constant and careful monitoring of moisture since there is no medium to absorb and hold water for the roots. Other synthetic media are available in various forms from vendors on the Internet. However, 1/4 bed of good quality potting soil provides an excellent base for growing your wheatgrass. 10. Extra Juice: Depending on the kind of juicer you use (see Appendix B below), you can gain an extra amount of juice by running the grass pulp from your juicer back through the juicer several more times. After the first pass of your grass through the juicer, a certain amount of juice will remain in the grass pulp. To salvage this juice, just drop the hunks of pulp back through the juicer until you can t see any more juice dripping from the output spout of your juicer. Using this method, a 10 x 20 tray of wheatgrass (8 in length) can produce nearly 16 ounces of juice! (Don t put too much pulp back through at one time or it may clog and stop your juicer.) Reorder OceanGrown Solution for watering your grass from Ocean Grown Canada. Call toll free, GRO-EASY, or visit Wheat Berries. The best seeds to use for juicing are hard red spring wheat seeds. At OceanGrown, we buy our seeds from a company in Saskatewan called Mumms and have had very good success and consistent sprouting. They are certified organic but we use growing methods that go beyond most organic requirements. Their wheat is non- GMO and it is chemical and pesticide free. Buying in bulk direct from a grower (e.g., 50 lbs. at a time) is cheaper

10 in the long run than buying from a local health food store. You can contact Mumms OceanGrown Solution: The method for growing presented in these brief instructions is not the only way to grow wheatgrass but it is a way that works! Experiment with different methods and continue to modify your growing strategy as you learn. Whatever size trays you use, growing medium you employ, or methods for soaking and rinsing, we encourage you to remain constant in your use of OceanGrown Solution as a nutrient feed. Your wheatgrass, and the juice from it, will soak up more major and trace mineral elements as a result of being watered with OGS than with any other product. Wheat grass, and other fruits and vegetables, can appear healthy on the outside but be nutritionally deficient on the inside. Cows can starve when grazing on fields of lush (nutritionally deficient) grass, which is grown on mineral-poor soil. Therefore, it is not enough for wheatgrass to be green and standing tall in a tray. To be of maximum benefit to you, it must be full of major and trace mineral elements. Using Ocean Grown Solution will make your grass as nutritionally dense as we know how to make it and that means maximum nutrition and health for you! Appendix B: Wheatgrass Juicers Obviously, you will need a wheatgrass juicer to extract the juice from the wheatgrass you have grown. OceanGrown will soon be selling wheatgrass juicers, but for now there are a number of models at varying prices available in the market. A search on the Internet will yield a number of juicers to choose from. Here are some guidelines on selecting a juicer: 1. The juice of any grass, fruit, or vegetable is contained in the individual cells of the plant. These cells have to be broken to release the juice, either by cutting or squeezing/crushing. Juicers fall into these two basic categories: juicers that cut or juicers that crush. 2. You can not juice wheatgrass effectively with any juicer which uses a cutting blade or teeth to cut up the grass and release the juice. All of these type juicers will quickly become clogged with the fiber of the grass. Therefore, juicers such as the Champion, Juiceman, Jack LaLanne Power Juicer, or any others which have spinning or turning blades or teeth are not appropriate for juicing wheatgrass. 3. This leaves juicers which crush or squeeze the wheatgrass (instead of cutting it) as a way to extract the juice. The most popular all-purpose juicer which will also juice wheatgrass is the single-gear OmegaJuicer, (Note: Ocean-Grown.com is not affiliated with any of the companies or products mentioned above. We mention them only as a convenience for those interested in acquiring the materials needed to grow and juice wheat grass at home.).

11 11 Appendix C: Ocean-Grown Mixing Chart OceanSolution Dilution/Mixing Instructions Reading of your source How many units of your source water to Mixed, ready to apply value water in ppm TDS to add to one unit OceanSolution of plant nutrient solution TDS Value Units of your source water TDS Value 0 ppm 49 units 2000 ppm 50 ppm 50 units 2000 ppm 100 ppm 52 units 2000 ppm 150 ppm 53 units 2000 ppm 200 ppm 54 units 2000 ppm 250 ppm 56 units 2000 ppm 300 ppm 58 units 2000 ppm 350 ppm 59 units 2000 ppm 400 ppm 61 units 2000 ppm 450 ppm 63 units 2000 ppm 500 ppm 65 units 2000 ppm 550 ppm 68 units 2000 ppm 600 ppm 70 units 2000 ppm 650 ppm 73 units 2000 ppm 700 ppm 75 units 2000 ppm 750 ppm 78 units 2000 ppm 800 ppm 82 units 2000 ppm 850 ppm 85 units 2000 ppm 900 ppm 89 units 2000 ppm 950 ppm 93 units 2000 ppm 1000 ppm 98 units 2000 ppm Example: If your source water (the water you use to dilute with) measures 300 ppm out of your well, or public water supply. Add 58 units of your source water to 1 unit of OceanSolution which will give you 59 total units of ready to apply plant nutrient solution, with a value of 2000 ppm. (ppm=parts per million, TDS=total dissolved solids) Note: Our TDS meters are only able to read up to 9,999 parts per million, total dissolved solids Attempting to read seawater or pure OceanSolution will damage meter and void warranty

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